The process in the Engineering Phase shall be conducted with the approved drawings, BOM, Functional Description, and Assembly Guidance…etc. serving as input. This phase has 2 main objects, define the manufacturing process and lunch the component/sub-assembly/product mass production. The following engineering activities should be executed and the associated documentation approved in this phase.
Evaluation
To plan how to proceed engineering phase. During this step, at least following activity and documents shall be accomplished.
- Approval of Design Verification
The design could keep changing from development to production according to the actual situation. The verification of design for manufacturing feasibility shall be approval, such as plastic parts shall have no unsolved undercut, sheet metal parts shall not have un-producible profile.
- Manufacturing methods
Shall be finalized for all parts including parts to be produced in-house. This activity includes the development of molds for manufacturing of plastic/metal die casting parts…etc. In the cases where new raw material or outsourced parts and/or manufacturing processes will be used, the vendor of these products and/or services shall be qualified.
- FMEA
This assessment is performed prior to equipment being built in order to analyze molding, assembly and test equipment used during production of the product, to identify and mitigate potential failures, and to get a robust manufacturing process. It includes at least 3 different perspective of assessment:
1. Assembly Risk Assessment (ARA): To identify risks and potential failures associated with component assembly step in Assembly Guidance. Risk controls are proposed as guidance to manufacturing process development and assembly equipment design.
2. Process FMEA (P-FMEA): To estimate risk and mitigate potential failures in molding, sub-component manufacturing, and associated assembly process in production of the product.
3. Equipment FMEA (E-FMEA): To estimates risks associated with equipment design, functions, and handling of components. The purpose of the E-FMEA is to optimize equipment design and increase reliability.
- Survey activity SPTT (Supplier Parts Tracking Team)
The final product is difficult to be completed by a single company. Supplier of outsourced material, services, and sub-assembly is necessary to accomplish the final product. SPTT is a survey process to qualify supplier from inquiry to lunch production, it could be separated into following steps:
1. Pre-SPTT: Survey new/existing supplier and sub-supplier capability of delivering the parts.
2. 1st-SPTT: Manufacturing plan detail discussion/modification/finalization.
3. 2nd-SPTT: Manufacturing related tools (including plastic/die-casting molds…etc) trial confirmation.
4. 3rd-SPTT: Manufacturing process readiness confirmation.
5. 4th-SPTT: Pilot production on-site confirmation.
Industrialization
To fabricate the tools/equipment/assembly line of manufacturing parts/product, and prepare the test sample for the same. During this step, at least following activity and documents shall be accomplished.
- URS of required additional machine
It describes the detail information of the “manufacturing/assembly equipment” to fulfill the requirement to complete the product, it could contain following items:
1. CNC machine
2. Injection Molding Machine
3. Die casting machine
4. Fording machine
5. Assembly machine
6. Any required manufacturing machine
- Assembly Process Work Instruction
It involves the development, fabrication and qualification of Assembly Equipment and the documentation and approval of work instructions for the assembly process. The dimension could be confirmed by measurement and checking fixture.
- Measurement Instruction
Describes the information regarding measuring component, including
Equipment: to perform the measurement activity, such as clapper, height gauge, laser scan, CMM…etc.
Fixture: to fix the component to certain position for measurement.
Measurement location: where of the component to be measured.
Approach: including direct, section, automatic…etc. measurement approaches.
In order to align the measurement approaches to be performed by related department. This document will be initiated during engineering phase and finalized before end of this step.
- Equipment Parameter
Describes the information regarding parameter setting of the manufacturing equipment, these information of each trial in this phase shall be recorded. The most suitable parameter setting shall be documented and issued as a formal effective document to be followed by the production department.
- Package Instruction
Describes the information regarding package, including
1. Component: approaches to pack the component, such as zipper bag, PE bag, tray…etc. in order to ensure the component could reach the assembly site safely.
2. Sub-assembly: approaches to pack the sub-assembly (Partial-finished products), such as by cavity, zipper bag, PE bag, tray…etc. in order to ensure the sub-assembly could reach the assembly site safely.
3. Final product: approaches to pack the final products, such as zipper bag, PE bag, tray…etc. in order to ensure the final product could reach the customer safely.
In order to align the packaging approaches to be performed by related department. This document will be initiated during engineering phase and finalized before end of manufacturing equipment built.
Qualification
To confirm the sample components/products produced as per design and ready for next phase. During this step, at least following activity and documents shall be accomplished.
- Actual Checking Fixture (ACF)
It is a kind of a checking fixture and activity. Actual checking fixture is for sub-assembly such as front and rear bumper, instrument panel…etc. Although the component are within spec in dimension and appearance respectively, there may still issues happen after assembled. The purpose of actual checking fixture is to check the situation of parts after assemble with each other. The ACF is also a milestone/activity shall be completed in this phase.
- Component Specification
Describes the requirements to which the component needs to conform, including dimension and appearance respectively. in order to be successfully assembled in down stream process and to deliver the fulfilled intended function to the final product. This document will be initiated during engineering phase and finalized before component approval.
- Inspection Plan
This is a document instructs QC inspection during mass production (IPQC) includes but not limited to, inspection items, sampling plan, acceptance criteria, specification, inspection frequency, reference documents, and material assignment.
- Test matrix and instruction
Test Matrix summarizes all tests shall be performed to subject project, the information recorded in test matrix including test name, responsibility, and requirement…etc. Test Matrix could be referred as an index of test instructions as well. Test Instruction describes the approach of each test which mentioned in test matrix. It is an operation manual of performing the subject test including the test equipment setup, test sample preparation, and specification/acceptance criteria…etc.
- Test
To qualify the manufactured component/sub-assembly/product, there are generally 2 kinds of test could be performed:
1. Variable: test with digitizing result, such as dimension, force, velocity…etc.
2. Attribute: test with no-digitizing result, which can only be judged as pass/fail, OK/NG, yes/no, such as crash test from Euro NCAP…etc.